Research
Boldly innovating to impact society and transform the world.
Northeastern University has achieved the prestigious recognition as a top-tier R1 institution for research activity among U.S. colleges and universities by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Our tradition of partnership and engagement guides a use-inspired and interdisciplinary research enterprise that is strategically aligned with three global imperatives: health, security, and sustainability. Our annual Annual Report highlights pioneering research and achievements over the past year.
The College of Engineering has over 240 tenured/tenure-track faculty, each bringing complementary areas of research expertise to address pressing global challenges. Their state-of-art-research looks at critical issues in materials, processes, systems, infrastructure, hardware and software at every scale—nano to macro to global—grounded in a translational approach that integrates the values of fundamental and applied research.
Our faculty boldly innovate by collaborating across engineering disciplines and the university, as well as with government, academia, and industry. The College of Engineering has more than 20 multidisciplinary research centers and institutes with funding from eight federal agencies. Our commitment to conducting transformative research to better the world can be seen by our growth in external research funding, which exceeds $100 million annually, and by an investment in research facilities such as our 223,000 square foot, six-story Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex and 367,000 square foot, eight-story EXP facility for teaching and research.
Research At-A-Glance
External Research Funding (FY2024)
Research Centers and Institutes
Young Investigator Awards (as of Aug. 2024)
Patents 2018-Aug. 2024
Related Resources
Understand how Northeastern partners with industry for research and workforce development
View the faculty directory for more information on individual researchers.
Recent News
Improving the Ability of Immune Cells to Distinguish Tumor Cells from Healthy Tissue
BioE Assistant Professor Yinnian Feng and an international team of researchers have published a breakthrough study in Cell titled “Tuning the sensitivity of mechanosensory receptors through histidine scanning.”
Wastewater Spills into the Potomac: Clean up Requires Manmade and Natural Teamwork
At the end of January, a major sewage pipeline collapsed into the Potomac River, spilling 243 million gallons of raw sewage into the water. CEE Chair and Professor Edward Beighley and Associate Teaching Professor Annalisa Onnis-Hayden explain the environmental risks as well as the processes that will clear the spill.
SDS Lab and AI4CaS Drive Global Climate Policy Impact
Researchers from the Sustainability and Data Sciences Laboratory (SDS Lab) and the AI for Climate and Sustainability (AI4CaS) group at the Institute for Experiential AI are driving global impact through expert features on the Muni Lowdown and What AI means for Sustainability podcasts and high-level policy presentations to U.S. and Indian officials.
Why Rechargeable Batteries Break Down Over Time
MIE Assistant Professor Juner Zhu’s research on “Electrode strain dynamics in layered intercalation battery cathodes” was published in Science.